什麼?發送郵件也會污染環境?

You might not realise it, but sending even a short email has an impact on the environment. Scientists estimate that an email adds about four grams (0.14 ounces) of carbon dioxide equivalent into the atmosphere.

你可能沒有意識到，即使是發送一封小小的郵件也會對環境產生影響。科學家估計，發送一封郵件相當於向大氣中排放約4克的二氧化碳。

That means that hitting 'send' on 65 mails is equal to driving an average-sized car a 0.6 miles (1km).

這意味着，發送65封郵件所產生的二氧化碳相當於一輛普通大小的汽車行駛1公里產生的二氧化碳。

This is according to a McAfee study the 'Carbon Footprint of Spam', which also found each time you copy someone else, another six grams of CO2 is added. A carbon footprint is the total amount of greenhouse gases produced to directly and indirectly support human activities, usually expressed in equivalent tons of carbon dioxide.

據邁克菲（一款殺毒軟件）“垃圾郵件的碳足跡”研究發現，每次轉發郵件同樣也會增加6克的二氧化碳。碳足跡是人類活動直接或間接地向大氣中排放溫室氣體的總量，通常也用同等數量的二氧化碳的噸數來表示。

The average person sends and receives 125 emails every day. When sending emails, greenhouse gases are produced in running the computer, server and routers, and when when the equipment was manufactured. Receiving a spam message, even if you do not open it, has an environmental impact of 0.3 gCO2.

每人平均每天收發125封郵件。發送郵件時，電腦、服務器、路由器的運行會產生溫室氣體，同時製造這些設備時也會產生二氧化碳。收到一條垃圾信息，即使你沒有打開，大氣中也會增加0.3克二氧化碳。

The global carbon footprint from spam annually is equivalent to the greenhouse gases pumped out by 3.1 million passenger cars using two billion gallons of gasoline in a year.

每年全球垃圾郵件的碳排放量相當於310萬輛客車每年消耗20億加侖的汽油所排出的二氧化碳。

Sending emails is just one activity on a long list of seemingly harmless everyday actions contribute to emissions of CO2. For example, typing in a non-essential Google inquiry on an energy-efficient laptop leaves a footprint of 0.2 gCO2e. On an old desktop computer, it is 4.5 gCO2e. Sending a text message isn't a less harmful method of communication either, as it comes at a cost of about 0.014 gCO2e.

發送郵件只是人類日常生活中看似無害卻會排放二氧化碳的衆多行爲中的一項。例如，用節能筆記本在谷歌上搜索一般的問題會產生0.2克的二氧化碳，而用老式電腦則會產生4.5克二氧化碳。發送短信同樣會對環境產生影響，因爲會產生約0.014克二氧化碳。